The fourth Sunday of Advent is the Sunday that immediately precedes Christmas. The liturgy is already heavy with motifs of the Incarnation. We read the prophecy about Bethlehem where the Messiah will be born and the mystery of the Incarnation presented through a psalm. In the Gospel reading, Mary brings Jesus, "Yeshua" (= Salvation) to Elizabeth and to the yet unborn John.
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Guide to the Reading of Luke 1:36-49
1. Notice how the opening chapter in Luke is arranged. In the beginning, there is an annunciation by the angel Gabriel to Zechariah. Then the same angel goes to Nazareth to announce the good news to Mary. Following this Mary goes to Elizabeth to proclaim what God has done for her. Finally, at the close of this section, Zechariah tells his new-born son, John, his place in salvation history and the role he is going to play. From angel to human beings, from human beings to other human beings — this is how the good news proceeds from heaven to earth.
2. Read 1:39-45: what do you notice? Mary arrives but it is Elizabeth who does the talking. Later, Mary will respond with a song (vv. 46-55). What does Elizabeth tell Mary? How do her words relate to what happened to Mary in the previous episode?
3. At the end of the Magnificat, Luke tells us that Mary stayed about three months and then returned home. After Mary went home, Luke narrates the birth of the Baptist. What does this tell you about Mary’s going to visit Elizabeth. Was it to help her give birth? What according to Luke was Mary’s mission to Elizabeth?
4. Let us go back to the beginning of the episode of Mary’s visit.
(a) We are told that she hurried to the hill country of Judah. Hers was not a leisurely journey; she goes to Elizabeth like a missionary: "in a hurry."
(b) Luke does not tell us how Mary greeted Elizabeth, but we know the normal Jewish greeting: "Peace be with you". Isn’t this another greeting used by the missionaries Jesus sends later on?
(c) After Elizabeth hears "Peace be with you", she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Try to remember: Is there another episode in the gospels where one finds people hearing the greeting "Peace be with you" and then receiving the Holy Spirit immediately afterwards? Where do you find this?
(d) The effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Elizabeth reached even the yet unborn John. This latter leaped in his mother’s womb. Even then, he already recognizes the arrival of the Messiah in Mary’s womb. What does this tell you about babies in the womb? Are they as impersonal as the pimples on an adolescent’s face.
(e) Reread Elizabeth’s words to Mary: did she recognize the Lord whom Mary bears in her womb? Does this add to your understanding of Mary as the Theotokos — the God-bearer?
(f) The liturgical selection stops at verse 45. What do you is the reason why for this Sunday of Advent, Elizabeth is the focus of the Gospel reading?
Comparing the Readings
The first reading from Micah is a Messianic prophecy that mentions the birth of a king and the place where he is to be born, Bethlehem of Ephratah. Under this king, the dispersed "brothers" will be gathered once more, and he will rule over the Lord’s flock, giving them peace and security. The reading from Hebrews 10:5-10 is a midrash of Psalm 39 (40): 6-8 which is presented as the words of The Son presenting Himself to the Father in an act of obedience. The author is clearly thinking of the Incarnation at the words "but a body you have prepared for me" (5c). He recalls those words at the conclusion of the section: "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." The body prepared for Jesus Christ is the one that Mary provided.
Suggestions for the Lesson
The fourth Sunday of Advent is the Sunday immediately preceding Christmas where the mystery of the Incarnation is re-presented. The words of Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary are highlighted in the Gospel selection: "Mother of my Lord" "she who believed" "Blessed among women" "Blessed the fruit of your womb". It is from Mary that the body of Jesus Christ was prepared for that sacrifice that puts an end to yearly blood offerings. Both the obedience of Mary and that of The Son are highlighted in the liturgy. The Catechism (488) gives us a concise synthesis:
"God sent forth his Son", but to prepare a body for him (Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 10:5), he wanted the free co-operation of a creature. For this, from all eternity God chose for the mother of his Son a daughter of Israel, a young Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, "a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary" (Luke 1:26-27):
The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death, so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life. (LG 56; cf. LG 61)
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